March 29, 2011

Between the Puddles Tuesday

Drizzly day in McCleary, as usual you need to wear layers, a rain coat, and sturdy footwear. As long as you are appropriately attired this is a good day for a walk around town. Some fruit trees are blooming and yellow daffodils can be seen. I wandered around for awhile, steering myself between the mud puddles, and listened to the hum of McCleary. The hum is from the Simpson door plant and to my mind the hum = jobs. So it's all good.

A new large banner is on the outside of the Lindsey Baum task force office downtown, here is my quick phone photo.



Word is that a new television show Vanished with Beth Holloway will include information on Lindsey's case and that a crew is in town now.

Breakfast at the Rain Country restaurant and now time for more exercise.

March 27, 2011

Leash Up McCleary



The weather is warming up and more dogs are on the loose here in McCleary. This is an unwise choice for those particular dog owners. McCleary's municipal code says dogs need to be leashed when not at home or safe and secure in a vehicle.
6.08.130 Leash requirements.
It is unlawful for any person to cause, permit, or allow any dog owned, harbored, controlled, or kept by him, in the city, to roam, run, or stray away from the premises where the same is owned, harbored, controlled, or kept, except that while away from said premises such dog shall at all time be controlled by means of a leash or chain not exceeding ten feet in length by the owner or some duly authorized and competent person; provided, however, that such leash or chain is not required for any dog when otherwise safely and securely confined or completely controlled while in or upon any vehicle.
(Ord. 501 § 13, 1986)
What can happen to and with your dog if you let it roam loose? You know already that Grays Harbor has a lot of armed citizens. Some will protect their property. You know loose dogs can get hit by cars. You know that even if you insist that your dog is gentle and would never bite anyone - things do happen.

Why wait til someone hurts your dog, it hurts someone, or the police have to pick it up and deal with it? Why not just keep it on a leash? If you have difficulty taking it out for walks, why not pay a local kid to regularly exercise it?

Please be a responsible dog owner.

Citizen Help Desk - animal complaints can be made here

March 26, 2011

Recognize this vehicle?



Officials in the Lindsey Baum missing child case are searching for the owner of this Ridgeline vehicle. The owner may have information on the crime, and is not a suspect.

Continued Quest for Lindsey

Department of Corrections work crews recently cleared brush again in McCleary as part of the ongoing Lindsey Baum investigation. Grays Harbor Undersheriff Rick Scott says this was not in response to any new info.

Edited post, paraphrased from newspaper article

Daily World, The (Aberdeen, WA) - Friday, March 25, 2011
(paid site so I can't provide link)

March 24, 2011

Items of Interest - City Council Packet 3/23

  • Department of Corrections: no news yet on location choices for Reception Center
  • Work on electrical substation that will affect customers south of Simpson Avenue is tentatively planned for 3rd or 4th weekend in April, official notices will go out once date set
  • City met with Army Corp of Engineers and WSDFW concerning Sam's Canal, City goal is to "remove the sediment and vegetation that has accumulated over the years and restore the channel to the original post construction condition".

Items of Interest series inspired by This week on the Council

March 20, 2011

Sunday walk McCleary



Sunny and windy this morning, brisk walk is a good way to wake up.



March 19, 2011

What is McCleary?

I'm collecting the brief descriptions of McCleary I come across in the media, here is what I have so far:
  • Quaint
  • Slice of Americana
  • Sleepy little town
  • Close knit community
  • Small Western Washington community
  • Small town America

March 17, 2011

Power Outage Special



Power Outage Special
March 19, 2001
8 am - noon
McCleary United Methodist
426 South 3rd Street
serving
Biscuits and sausage gravy with eggs
suggested donation $5.00

Morning in McCleary

Pancakes at Rain Country, checked their free wifi with my laptop and the wifi does indeed work.

Briefly met Mr. Ellsworth Curran and shook his hand. A local friend tells me that Mr. Curran has probably had more positive influence on the town than any other person still living. Operation Second Growth and the McCleary Bear Festival being cases in point.

Watched folks gather across the street for meeting at Lindsey Baum task force office.

March 16, 2011

Quonset Hut McCleary

Simple to manufacture and easy to assemble, the Quonset Hut is an easily recognizable architectural form. The building was designed in 1941 by a team of engineers at Quonset Point Naval Air Station in Rhode Island, hence the name. With American preparing for the possibility of war, the Navy had approached the George A. Fuller Company to design a prefabricated, portable structure that could be shipped in pieces to faraway military outposts. The structure had to be able to be set up quickly by untrained personnel and had to serve a variety of purposes. Reportedly a team of ten could build a typical twenty-foot Quonset hut in one day.
source

The VFW Hall in McCleary is an example of a Quonset still in use.



March 15, 2011

On Respect

I have somewhat of a town booster type attitude going on. I'm curious about where I am and eager to learn more. I also have my own voice and opinions.

I've been thinking on how to do this in a respectful manner. I figure I will still be me, I'll still write things like my opinion that a particular mural could stand a touch up or whatever, but I'll refrain from telling people what to do.

I can suggest. I can encourage. I can express my opinions and thoughts on a matter. Without claiming that I know what everyone should do.

March 14, 2011

Support Requested

The Find Lindsey Baum group has asked the City of McCleary for city property space for a billboard. This won't cost the city anything, the group will provide the billboard.

You can write letters of support and send copies to findlindseybaum@live.com, they can then take them to city council. You can also contact the city directly.

March 12, 2011

Community Potluck

McCleary Chamber of Commerce sponsored "Celebrating McCleary and All We Have to Offer" community potluck honoring volunteer organizations.
March 18th, 5 - 7 pm, VFW hall, 158 N. Summit Road McCleary

McCleary PTO School Carnival

McCleary PTO School Carnival:

Come have fun at the McCleary School Carnival with old- fashioned games like a cake walk, fishing pond, bowling, football toss, and dunk tank! There will also be a talent show and a dance afterwards. March 19th, 2011, carnival 4-8pm (talent show 7pm), dance 8-10pm, 611 S. Main Street, McCleary.

For more information, contact: Jamie Jhanson (360) 495-3523
jjhanson@mccleary.wednet.edu

Upcoming planned Power Outage notice

The City of McCleary would like to make you aware of a service interruption to some McCleary Power customers. The City of McCleary has contracted with a Washington State Contractor to conduct an inspection and repair at our substation located at 7th and Ash. To facilitate this work this substation must be shut down temporarily. Only customers north of Simpson Avenue will be affected.

This planned outage is scheduled to begin at 12:00 AM on Saturday March 19, 2011 (midnight Friday) and end at 12:00 AM on Sunday March 20, 2011 (midnight Saturday).

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please note that downtown businesses, including Gordon’s Market and restaurants will be open during this outage. Additionally emergency services, including police and fire response and the hospital will not be impacted.

March 11, 2011

Items of Interest - City Council Packet 3/9

  • Public Facilities "still in design phase of the storm drainage issues of 6th and Hemlock"
  • Public Works electrical substation repairs needed, "work will likely be done in two separate outages"
  • Public Works wastewater treatment plant - debris in influent sampling hose was possible cause of random spike in loading, hose now replaced and checked every sample day

March 9, 2011

Do You Recognize Them?

The FBI missing person notice on Lindsey Baum still includes a link to this surveillance video - please look it over and see if you recognize anyone.

"....and the suspect ran north, south, east, and west"

The Daily World is a paid news site, you need a subscription to view entire articles. Fortunately 2005 - current articles can be accessed through Timberland Regional Library online. Otherwise I would miss out on gems like this from Sept 21, 2010:
The man was first stopped by McCleary Police for backing down the center of Main Street at about 5:20 p.m. Friday. When an officer stopped him, the man first gave a false name. When the officer discovered the man was wanted on multiple counts, he advised him he was under arrest. The man then got out of his vehicle and fled on foot and the police officer pursued him. The officer was assisted by members of Grays Harbor County Sheriffs Office, Washington State Patrol and the state Department of Fish and Wilidlife.

"It was one of those miserable, rainy days and the suspect ran north, south, east and west. The officer was tuckered out," said McCleary Police Chief George Crumb .
I love that quote by our police chief.

As for the news story, the guy was eventually caught on the south side of Highway 8, Gizmo the K-9 police dog assisting.

March 8, 2011

"You can't win the lottery if you don't buy the ticket."

The title quote is from McCleary Director of Public Works, Nick Bird about McCleary's bid for the Department of Correction's new reception center.

The DOC has a good frequently asked questions up on their site. New questions can be sent in.

What type of jobs and how many?
Positions at the reception center will range from healthcare professionals to warehouse employees. Many of the positions are likely to go to people living near the site. Substantial efforts will be made to site the facility where qualified workers can be recruited locally. Washington State Department of Personnel qualifications and procedures will apply. Training is provided to all staff employed at the facility to ensure ongoing community safety.

To provide an estimate of the possible jobs for a community the current reception center employs:

* 322 Correctional officers and other custody staff
* 185 Administrative, maintenance and operations staff
* 79 Health care professionals
600 some jobs? I really hope McCleary is chosen. We have the workforce and we need the jobs.

And hey - we even have the sticky buns to make everyone feel right at home!

From Mayor's report to city council Feb. 23th on DOC visit:
The Department of Corrections performed an onsite visit to the three potential sites the City submitted for a new reception center. .....Mayor Dent extended a public thank you to Pauline Martin from Subway and to the Rain Country Restaurant for arranging sticky buns for the attendees of the visit and they were a big hit.

March 7, 2011

Weekend in Grays Harbor

  • Cats to routine vet appointment downtown McCleary branch of Grays Harbor Veterinary Services
  • Lunch Rusty Tractor garden burger and seasoned tractor track fries
  • Overnight Microtel Elma soak away winter aches and chills in jacuzzi
  • Breakfast Bee Hive Monte pancakes and coffee
  • Groceries Thriftway Monte (my ginger root referred to cheerfully as an "oddball item" by store clerk)
  • Sunday drive around Chehalis Watershed

March 5, 2011

Sign of the Times

Overheard

Overheard in a Grays Harbor county grocery -

Customer: "Do you have sprouts?"
Produce guy: "What?"
Customer: "Do you carry sprouts?"
Produce guy: "No........sorry we don't."
Customer thanks him and is walking away when produce guy adds: "We do have them in cans though."

Canned sprouts? Oh yeah, probably mung bean sprouts. This overheard exchange points out a fact about Grays Harbor - fresh vegetables and fruit are not easily available here unless you grow your own.

Steve Willis on McCleary

The librarian/cartoonist (by his own description) Steve Willis compiled this handy list of links to his posts about McCleary and Grays Harbor:

March 4, 2011

Straddleline ORV Park - new management

Promoto Promotions will be Managing Straddleline ORV Park
March 4, 2011
By Wes Hare

More Details to come…
source

The Building with the Scary Eyes












This one story commercial building on Simpson Ave in McCleary was built in 1937. Recently I've seen roof patch work being done on it. The building is for sale.

The above photo is from Steve's blog and more photos can be found on the county assessor's office site. But to get the full effect of the James Abbott murals on the building you really have to visit it in person.

Another Abbott mural can be found down the street on the Gordon's grocery store. And Elma has quite a few. But we can stay with The Building with the Scary Eyes for this post.

I like the idea of historical themed murals. I like lots of street art in general - like the free wall in Olympia, I also like old commercial art on city buildings. I think Abbott's landscapes, vehicles, and buildings are fine. But his people, specifically their faces, seem to be all the same. And the eyes of the people on that building in McCleary are downright spooky.

Maybe restoration and repainting will do the trick. Maybe time and wear are the cause of these particularly soulless eyes. Maybe a new owner needs to give the building a completely fresh coat of paint.

When do we need to preserve outdoor building murals, no matter what? How can we retain art (maybe save some of the murals on that building, not all, and touch up what remains?) without creeping ourselves out for decades to come?

March 3, 2011

WiFi in McCleary

Looking for public wifi in McCleary? Here are some options:

Subway open 6 am to 10 pm weekdays, 8 am to 10 pm weekends, have wifi, no useable power outlets though, the public area only has one outlet and it is on the ceiling, inconvenient even for the employees

Rain Country restaurant advertises wifi but last time I visited I was not able to connect

McCleary Timberland library, small friendly public library with with really free wifi (don't have to buy anything to use), padded chairs near window have outlet access, also could set up shop at one of the computer terminals if available

March 1, 2011

Orange Octopus of Metal

Initially the Simpson door plant looked huge to me, an octopus of orange metal looming over McCleary. Now I'm accustomed to the sight and sound.

To see Simpson doors you have to travel out of town to a dealer, say in Shelton or Olympia. Or you can walk around town and see Simpson doors in use all over the place.

( phone photo from mortythedog.com )


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